Textile process and product



tented Apr... 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE PROCESS AND PRODUCT Camille Dreyfus, New York, N. Y., and Herbert Platt, Cumberland, Md., assignors to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Dela- This invention relates to the treatment of textile materials containing organic derivatives of cellulose and relates more particularly to the treatment of such materials with weighting agents under such conditions that the temperatures at which they may be safely ironed is materially increased.

An object of our invention is to increase the safe ironing point of textile materials containing to organic derivatives of cellulose by treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal salt under such conditions that no appreciable swelling of the organic derivative of cellulose takes place and then fixing the weighting metal. Other Hi objects of our invention will appear from the following detailed description.

Textile materials containing certain kinds of cellulose acetate or other organic derivatives of cellulose tend to melt or stick to an iron or 20 calender when pressed with such devices that are too hot. It is desirable to have the temperature at which such textile materials may be safely ironed as high as possible. We have found that if such textile materials are treated with a solu- 25 tion of a weighting salt under such conditions that substantially no swelling of the same takes place and the weighting metal then fixed therein, the safe ironing point of the textile materialis greatly increased, despite the fact that a relative- 30 ly small amount of weighting takes place.

In accordance with our invention we increase the safe ironing point of a textile material containing an organic derivative of cellulose by treating the same with a solution of a weighting 35 metal salt under such conditions that no appreciable swelling takes place and then fixing with a fixing agent.

The textile material tobe treated may be in the form of fabric or it may be in the form of yarn. Garments, such as hose, dresses, underwear and the like may be treated by this invention. While this invention will be specifically described in connection with textile materials containing cellulose acetate, the textile material may contain other organic derivatives of cellulose such as organic esters of cellulose and cellulose ethers. Examples of organic esters of cellulose are cellulose formate, cellulose propionate, and cellulose butyrate while examples of cellulose ethers are ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose. The textile material may consist solely of the organic derivatives of cellulose or it may have other fibres such as natural silk therein.

As stated the textile material containing cellulose acetate is treated with a solution of a suitable weighting salt such as salts of tin, zinc, aluminum, bismuth, tungsten or antimony, etc., etc. However we prefer to employ stannic chloride. The solution of weighting metal salt should contain no appreciable amounts of a swelling agent for the cellulose acetate, nor should the solution of the weighting metal salt itself act appreciably as a swelling agent for the same at the prevailing temperatures.

' In the case of the treatment of textile materials containing cellulose acetate, we have found that solutions of stannic chloride of from 1 to 10% concentration, preferably from 2 to 6%, at temperatures of 50 to 95 C. are preferable. As to the concentration of the stannic chloride we have found that there is a certain optimum maximum,

as with increased concentrations beyond this maximum, poorer results in safe ironing point are obtained. Generally the more concentrated the solution of stannic chloride employed, the lower will be the temperature of treatment. As to the time of treatment, this may vary from minutes toil hours or more.

We have found that greatly improved results are obtained if the weighting metal bath has 25 dissolved therein a substantial amount, say from 10 to 40% or more, of sodium chloride, potassium chloride or calcium chloride or similar acting material which are neither appreciable swelling agents nor weighting agents for the cellulose 0 acetate material. If such materials are present in the weighting metal bath, vastly increased safe ironing points are obtained.

The solution of the weighting metal salt may be applied to the fabric by suspending such fabric from strings in a tank containing such solution or the fabric may be treated with the solution in a winch or jig and less preferably by padding.

If yarn is to be treated the same may be submerged in the bath in the form of hanks.

After the fabric has been treated with the weighting metal salt bath, it is extracted or wrung and, preferably without rinsing, is subjected to a fixing bath. This fixing bath may be an aqueous solution of trisodium phosphate, disodium phosphate or other soluble phosphates, the silicates of sodium, potassium or other soluble silicates orother similarly acting materials. The fixing bath or solution maybe applied to the textile material by any of the modes above described for applying the weighting metal salt solution, or in any other manner.

Fabric containing cellulose acetate when treated in accordance with this invention may be safely ironed at much higher temperatures than 5 the untreated fabric, for instance 40 to 100 C. higher or even still higher. Fabric so treated usually scorches before it sticks to an iron or calender that is too hot, whereas the untreated fabric tends to melt or stick to the iron before it scorches. This scorching before sticking of the treated fabric gives a warning that the iron is too hot.

Because no appreciable swelling of the filaments or yarns of the cellulose acetate takes place, the present method may be carried out with little or no danger of damage to the textile material. Fabrics treated by this invention increase in weight from less than 1 to 10% or more.

Cellulose acetate textile material treated by this invention can be dyed not only with dyes that have an aiiinity for the untreated cellulose acetate material but also with certain direct, acid and basic dyes which do not dye the untreated cellulose acetate material, an example of which is Direct Scarlet B, (Color Index No. 382) In order further to illustrate our invention, the following specific examples are given.

Example I A fabric consisting wholly of yarns or file. ments made from an acetone soluble cellulose acetate having an acetyl value of 54 to 55% (determined as acetic acid) is suspended by strings in an aqueous bath containing of stannic chloride and 30% of common salt (NaCl). The bath is equal to about 100 times the weight of the fabric. The fabric is treated in this bath for 2 hours at 85 C. and is then extracted; whereupon, without washing, it is treated in a bath containing 2% of trisodium phosphate at room temperatures for minutes. The fabric is rinsed and dried and may be subjected to any desired finishing treatment. The fabric so treated increases in weight by about 2% and can be safely ironed with an iron or calender that is at 300 to 310 C. as compared with a safe ironing point of 220 C. for the untreated fabric.

Example II A fabric similar to that employed in Example I is steeped in a bath containing 2.5% of stannic chloride and 20% of common salt at 85 C. for one hour and after extracting or wringing, is, without washing, padded with a 5% solution of trisodium phosphate at 50 C. The fabric is then rinsed and dried. Results similar to but somewhat less marked than those obtained in Example I are obtained.

Example III A fabric similar to that employed in Example I is scoured and dried and is then run in a jig for 2 hours in a bath containing 5% of stannic chloride and 25% of common salt. The temperature of the bath is 85 C. The fabric is then extracted and, without rinsing is run through a 5% solution of trisodium phosphate, six ends, at 45 C. and is then rinsed and may be dyed.

The fabric so treated has properties similar to those obtained in Example I with the exception that the safe ironing temperature is 320 C. and the amount of increase of weight is greater than in Example I.

Example IV A fabric similar to that employed in Example I is steeped for 2 hours in an aqueous bath containing 5% o! stannic chloride and 30% of common salt at a temperature of 85 C. The fabric is then dried without rinsing and steeped in an aqueous solution of sodium silicate of 5% concentration at 50 C. for ten minutes. The fabric is then rinsed and dried.

The fabric so treated has properties similar to those obtained in Example I, with the exception that the safe ironing temperature is about 360 C. and the amount of increase of weight is greater.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing an organic deriva tive of cellulose comprising treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal salt of less than 10% concentration at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

2. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing cellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal salt of less than 10% concentration at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

3. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of a textile material containing an organic derivative of cellulose, which comprises treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal chloride in a concentration not exceeding 10% at temperature between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

4. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing an organic derivative of cellulose comprising treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal salt of 1 to 10% concentration at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

5. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing cellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal salt of 1 to 10% concentration at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

6. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing cellulose acetate, which comprises treating the same with a solu-' tion of a weighting metal chloride in a concentration not exceeding 10%, which solution contains 10 to 40% of a substance selected from the group consisting of the chlorides of sodium, po-

tassium and calcium, at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

'7. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing cellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solution of a tin salt of less than 10% concentration at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing the tin.

8. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing cellulose acetate, which comprises treating the same with a solution of tin chloride in a concentration not exceeding 10%, which solution contains 10 to 40% of a substance selected from the group consisting of the chlorides of sodium, potassium and calcium, at temperatures between 50 and 95 C. and then fixing-the tin.

9. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of textile materials containing cellulose acetate comprising treatingthe same with a solution of stannic chloride of 1 to 10% concentration, which solution contains 10 to of sodium chloride, at temperatures between and 95 C. and then fixing the tin.

10. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of a textile material containing filaments of cellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solution containing 2 to 5% of stannic chloride and 10 to 35% of sodium chloride for 30 minutes to 3 hours, extracting the excess liquid, and treating the same with a solution of a soluble phosphate at elevated temperatures whereby the tin is fixed largely at the surface of the filaments.

11. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of a textile material containing filaments of cellulose acetate comprising treating the same with a solution containing about 5% of stannic chloride and about 30% of common salt at a temperature of about C. for about 2 hours, and then treating the same with a solution of soluble sillcate at elevated temperatures.

12. Method of increasing the safe ironing point of a textile material containing cellulose acetate, which comprises treating the same with a solution of a weighting metal chloride in a concentration not exceeding 10% at temperature between 50 and C. and then fixing the weighting metal.

CAMILLE DREYFUS. HERBERT PLATT. 

